This photo taken Monday, Feb. 4, 2013, shows a close up detail of a Boy Scout uniform worn by Brad Hankins, a campaign director for Scouts for Equality, as he responds questions during a news conference in front of the Boy Scouts of America headquarters in Irving, Texas. The Boy Scouts of America's policy excluding gay members and leaders could be up for a vote as soon as Wednesday, when the organization's national executive board meets behind closed doors under intense pressure from several sides. (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez)
Photo: Tony Gutierrez, STF

This photo taken Monday, Feb. 4, 2013, shows a close up detail of...

A Boy Scout wears an Eagle Scot neckerchief during the annual Boy Scouts Parade and Report to State in the House Chambers at the Texas State Capitol, Saturday, Feb. 2, 2013, in Austin, Texas. Perry says he hopes the Boy Scouts of America doesn't move soften its mandatory no-gays membership policy. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)
Photo: Eric Gay, STF

Members of Trail Life USA Troop 316 show off their grade insignia on Thursday afternoon. Members in Kindergarten through 5th grade are designated Woodlands Trails, members in 6th through 8th grades are Navigators, and members in 9th through 12th grades are called Adventurers. The troop meets regularly on Monday nights at Wildwood Village Mills United Methodist Church.
Photo taken Thursday, 4/17/14
Jake Daniels/@JakeD_in_SETX
Photo: Jake Daniels

Village Mills Scouts vowed to adhere to Christian ideals, the reason they cite for unanimously voting to sever ties with the Boy Scouts of America and join the rapidly growing ranks of Trail Life USA.

It's a decision many young men and their parents made after the BSA began accepting openly gay youths earlier this year.

National Boy Scout leaders said the change allows them to be more inclusive and teach life skills to more kids. Those who oppose the new policy say it threatens Christian values.

Launched in January as a faith-based alternative to the Boy Scouts, Trail Life now has 55 chartered groups in Texas, said Ron Orr, a Dallas-Fort Worth area organizer. Twenty-five additional Texas groups - including the boys from Village Mills - are working toward a charter, he said.

And Trail Life isn't the only alternative to Boy Scouts seeing a boom in membership.

Orr, a soft-spoken man, is clear about his Christian faith and what it says about homosexuality: It is a sin that cannot be tolerated.

"As Christians from a scriptural basis, we love all folks, but the Scripture is very clear that being homosexual is a sin," said Orr. "We've got to be able to hold a strong line and set a consistent example for our young men."

Trail Life promotes itself on its website as the "premier national character development organization for young men which produces Godly and responsible husbands, fathers and citizens."

Its official membership standards policy welcomes all boys, but adds, "We grant membership to adults and youth who do not engage in or promote sexual immorality of any kind, or engage in behavior that would become a distraction to the mission of the program."

A small movement

So far, eight Southeast Texas churches have cut ties with the BSA over its policy on gay members, said Les Bentley, executive director of the BSA Three Rivers Council. In the past year, local Boy Scouts membership has dropped 3.5 percent, he said.

According to Orr, whose family includes four generations of Eagle Scouts, former BSA members constitute 60 percent of Trail Life's membership.

Trail Life has units in more than 40 states, and has about 600 more in the process of registration, executive director Rob Green said in March.

It is still a tiny movement compared to Scouting, which has nearly 2.5 million youth members and remains a powerful force in America.

Orr and others in Trail Life say they are fighting for the traditional values of Christianity and of Scouting, which includes a command in the Scout Oath to be "morally straight" - even as a changing America grows more accepting of gays and gay marriage.

Defenders of the Boy Scouts of America policy change said it has given the organization an opportunity to diversify and broaden its reach.

"Ultimately, Scouting voted in favor of a new policy that allows us to serve more kids," Deron Smith, BSA's national spokesman, told The Associated Press in an email. "That said, we're pleased that the strong majority of our Scouting family remains committed to Scouting."

Unlike Boy Scouts, Trail Life charters must be made through a church or another Christian organization. That devotion to Christian values is what separates Trail Life from the Boy Scouts, according to Jesse Munoz, organizer of the Village Mills troop.

"We decided our group would always be within the Christian faith," he said. "That's about the only thing you could say would be different between us and Boy Scouts."

Munoz said the troop was concerned the Boy Scouts' decision to include openly gay youths would lead to the organization moving even further away from religion, including the elimination of prayer and Scripture from meetings.

"We want to be sure we can always pray at our meetings," he said.

Life skills, not sexuality

For some area churches and Scout leaders, history overruled convention.

"We're not going to ask the sexual preference of kids," said Ed Long, scoutmaster of Troop 65, which meets at Wesley United Methodist Church. "It's not a question on the application."

Boy Scouts are at the age when hormones are surging through their bodies, screaming at them from every which way, Long said.

"Do they really know what they want?" he said.

Wesley United's support of the Boy Scouts never wavered after the announcement that the membership policy would change, said Long. Troop 65 has been chartered since 1948.

Long said he heard from one parent who had concerns about the inclusion of openly gay Scouts, but the parent decided to keep the boy in the troop anyway.

"Did it help the Scouts or did it hurt the Scouts?" he said of the policy change. "I don't know."

The 13 boys in Troop 65, who all come from different backgrounds, spend their time learning how to build fires, cook and survive on their own, Long said. Scouting is about teaching life skills, he said.

"The whole idea of Scouting is to develop a well-rounded person," according to Long.

Most churches still support Scouts

For over a century, Scouting banned openly gay youth and leaders, fighting all the way to the Supreme Court to defend its right to do so. Leaders who were revealed to be gay were excluded, and some boys were denied Eagle Scout awards by regional councils that were notified of their sexual orientation.

But the Scouts eventually began to face pressure from sponsors and CEOs who serve in Scouting leadership but lead companies with anti-discrimination policies. BSA surveys also showed that youths and parents of Scouting-age children were supportive of allowing openly gay Scouts.

Scouting leadership proposed a compromise: Accept openly gay youth, but exclude gay adult volunteers. BSA's National Council voted in May to enact it.

About two churches in each of the four districts - Big Thicket, Sabine, Spindletop and Trinity - that the BSA's Three Rivers Council covers have rescinded their sponsorships since the vote, said Bentley.

"We're sticking just about neck-and-neck with what's happening in the Southern region," Bentley said of the number of churches rescinding sponsorships.

There are currently 80 different BSA charter organizations in the region, ranging from churches to Lions Clubs to parents. Those charters sponsor approximately 160 BSA units, which could be a Cub Scout Pack or a Boy Scout Troop.

When the Orangefield church rescinded its sponsorship of the BSA last summer, St. Paul United Methodist Church in Bridge City took on the displaced Troop 125.

"The Methodist Church has a long history of supporting Scouting," said the Rev. Mark Bunch of St. Paul United Methodist. "The church welcomed them in."

Troop 125 moved over to St. Paul in August ahead of the policy change. A Cub Scout pack that already met at St. Paul merged with Troop 125 to form Troop 290.

"The church overwhelmingly supported them," Bunch said.

The church recognizes the values of Scouting, such as "raising young boys to become young men," Bunch said.